


Shikibaku

by protaganope



Category: Naruto
Genre: Academy times, F/F, F/M, I wrote most of this a while ago at like 3am please don’t judge me, M/M, Multi, Shikamaru goes back in time, Shikamaru’s a little messed up but he’s surviving, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-26 01:15:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14391096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protaganope/pseuds/protaganope
Summary: Shikamaru really could do with a cigarette  right about now. (Ino scolds him, but he pretends not to hear.)Konoha is gone. In ruin.He’s just waiting for his turn, his oblivion.But a strange man with curious chakra and a plan so outlandish appears to kill his fate, and Shikamaru simply has to wonder if the man is mocking him.But he accepts.Why?There’s nothing else he can lose.





	1. Eaten

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this ages ago and it’s just been sitting in my notes app ever since. ive freed it now. pls don’t be too harsh

Shikamaru smoked a lot. He knew how damaging the habit was, a little too well.

_Smoking can cause fatal diseases such as pneumonia, emphysema and lung cancer smoking causes 84% of deaths from lung cancer and 83% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD, a progressive and debilitating disease, is the name for a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Causes difficulties when breathing, narrowing of their airways and destruction of lung tissue. Typical symptoms of COPD include: increasing breathlessness when active, a persistent cough with phlegm and frequent chest infections-_

He blocked that train of thought whenever he could.

Now, by adding a layer of chakra to the lungs, in theory, he could stop such effects occurring.

But moulding his chakra some days seemed impossible, in those days when the smoke wrapped lovingly around his neck like a noose. His romanticisation was making him sick, but it was true.

Man, he really needed a drag right now.

Konoha was gone, but this time, the inhabitants were too. All around was nothing but ash, and Shikamaru wondered absentmindedly if he could have one more cigarette before he turned to dust, too.

He had been a wreck when his teammates had died. Everything had stopped. Stood still.

Well, for Shikamaru it had. For the others, it had been frantic. Sai had ran off to kami knows where; Naruto had been killed together with Sasuke in some kind of joint seppuku - Shikamaru didn't even know; Sakura and Hinata were killed while performing a 'rescue' spy mission: a sick trap.

All that remained now, was him.

“Shikamaru.”

Oh, and her.

"What is it, you menace?" Shikamaru asked tiredly, rubbing his chin. Dark marks and small cuts littered his skin now, only made worse by the heavy smoking he had done during the hardest parts of the war.

That wasn't the only injured part of him, though. He was covered with scars that stretched over his joints, tugging on the live skin whenever he moved.

It was troublesome, and one specific wound had messed up his left hand's ability to perform delicate tasks, but he was glad that he didn't have a sprawling injury across his face like his father di-

had.

The voice, by the way, was Ino. In his head, yes, but he hadn't gone completely round the bend just yet. It was a jutsu. One the blonde had used with her last breath, exhaling. It allowed her to stay with him, if only in his mind. Serving as guardian. A help.

The Yamanaka always had the most specific jutsu out of the three bonded clans.

“Unknown to the left, 2:30.” He dropped the cigarette he was about to light.

Shikamaru's eyes darted in said direction, already tense frame angled into a comforting stance. It left nothing for show, unreadable and designed for a quick and easy method of incapacitation.

He had only perfected it a few months ago, but it was still a force to be reckoned with. As a precaution, his shadow grew, replacing the one painted on the wall he was leaning on. The wall had long been shattered, bright paint chipped away to reveal the dark Hashirama wood that stood, fractured and sharp, like jagged teeth.

Once, it had been Konoha's right wall, and was the only part of the village that remained partially upright.

Returning to the matter at hand.

This skill of location, was one of the things Ino was best at. She was always able to sense people before he could, and name whether they were ally or foe. Shikamaru’s muscles tremble a little with exhaustion.

He hadn't slept in heavens knows how long, and his body seemed to have chosen today to let it all catch up to him.

If he were a lesser man, he would have fallen to his knees. But not now, not with an enemy so close.

A single man strode across land that once held lush greenery. He wore a dark suit, far too clean cut and unblemished for a ninja to possibly wear as regular attire in this era. Yet his relaxed, catlike walk screamed familiarity with his dress.

This man had whiter hair than Kakashi had had, tinged yellow due to the sunset behind him. "Salutations, Konohan Shinobi." The white haired man began with a wave. "I come with a certainly appealing preposition for Konohagakure's chief strategist. Your village will find it a saviour of sorts." There was, strangely, no emotion to his lilting voice, and Shikamaru yearned to hear something which would give him a clue on the man's personality.

"Konoha is dead." Shikamaru stated flatly, not dropping his guard. But his eyes were weary, and he knew the other knew it too. Closed eyes disappeared behind pale cheeks, and the man let out an unnervingly fake laugh.

"Ah, but that is not quite true, is it now? I know of two of her people of which are still breathing, even if it is as one." That fake smile remained plastered on his face as he gesticulated, and Ino as well as Shikamaru could agree that the expression was even worse than that ROOT agent Sai's had ever been.

Ino's usually confident voice was worried. “We didn't tell anyone about that jutsu's creation. Nor was anybody around at my end. So, who exactly is this guy?”

"Name yourself." Shikamaru demanded, for he truly held no inkling as to the identity of this man. If he took one more step...

"Me? I am no-one. A mirage, a lie, an escape, a mirror." The eccentric-looking man turned his gaze down and strode backwards. "Oh, and I am not going to be taking any more strides forward. I do not want to be caught by your blackening shadow; I shan't stay long, you have other commitments, I am certain." He added with a quiet clap.

So he can tell my shadows are being restrained for now, the Nara thought. Any ideas, Ino?

“None at all,” she replied, fast and immediate.

Great. "You didn't really give me anything specific, y'know." Shikamaru didn't mean to add Naruto's tick, but couldn't stop it. He was still a little bitter about his Hokage's death.

"I am but a man. Nothing more nor less. You may name me if you desire, I have not had one of those in so long." Shikamaru decided it would be a good idea to stall. He pretended to think for a moment, but the man shook his head. "Do not assume you can fool me. As soon as I said you could choose, your mind ran through many possible names and eliminated all but one in the second after I suggested it. State it."

Shikamaru sighed. "Fine. Kagami." The newly dubbed Kagami laughed again.

"Perfect, perfect. An adorable name for an adorable me," Shikamaru raised a brow. Was this man okay in the head? He frowned. No, he definitely wasn't, what with his behaviour. The man continued, still so very sunny and polite, "Now then, would you like to discuss my deal? Come with me, hmmm? Shikamaru glared at Kagami.

"From my basic analysis of you, there is no possible way that this deal will benefit me. If I reject, however, l can see 38 versions in which we fight and sustain severe, possibly crippling injuries, and 49 in which we fight and both die. I only see 12 in which you die and 9 where we both do. So tell me now what it is that you want; I won't move. "I don't care anymore." Kagami clapped, and Shikamaru could tell the man was forcing amusement into his body language.

"Brilliant, brilliant! That mind of yours, always working so quickly - l have almost no hope in catching up." His tone darkened suddenly, playful voice flipping like a switch. It was rich with a certain kind of bloodlust as Kagami continued. "Nara Shikamaru. I came here to propose an opportunity, to change," he paused, gesturing around, waving long nails, sharp yet far too awkward for shinobi life, before Shikamaru's sore eyes. "All, of this." His tongue licked fanged teeth that the Nara hadn't noticed before. "Would you like to make this nothing but a dream? Or perhaps, a dream of someone else's? Wouldn't that be just bon?" The Nara's eyes widened.

“Sunan?” The Yamanaka suggested. Only Sunan citizens spoke that as their first language, but it wasn’t enough to solidify his identity— Konoha taught it’s students Sunan at the academy, and half of Cloud knew the tongue as well. Shikamaru, almost imperceptibly, shook his head. She sighed. “What does he mean, then, Shika?”

Was it possible that this man was speaking of the scroll Gaara had found deep in the Kazekage library? He clicked his tongue and tried to keep his voice as level as possible, pleased when it crawled out of his throat in his usual drawl.

"What, and how, do you know of that?"

The man merely giggled. "I know of many things, Nara Shikamaru. But do you? Answer me. What do you wish this dream to be? Yours, or someone else's?" Shikamaru understood. There was no doubt that this man was speaking of the Shikibaku jutsu.

It allowed someone to travel to a universe identical to their original, and replace their other self, living as the... them, of that world. Or, alternatively, in the body of their original world, leaving the identity of themselves unchanged. It was a complicated jutsu. All forbidden techniques were in one way or another, and Sunan shinobi especially simply loved to play with abstract ideas. He cleared his throat.

"How much would I keep, if this dream were to be mine?" He asked cryptically.

The man mimicked leaning on a ledge. (How he did that so believably, the Nara didn't know.)

"Hmmmm... Depends. How much do you want to keep?" His eyes opened lazily, long lashes detangling. "If you're worried about the girl, she's part of you: she gets to stay." He said flatly, but then he was grinning again, pupils shielded by pale lids once more. Shikamaru was unconvinced, and Kagami seemed to detect this. "You memories are guaranteed too, after around 18 months." He chirped.

One thing... "Will I see you again in this new world?" He asked, mainly because Ino had been repeating it sharply in his ear.

"Hmmmmm, that's possible. This one might pop by, but you might come across the ‘me’ from that place, too." Kagami's musing, considering voice left nothing to grasp at. Ino grumbled something about the pair of them being a bad profiler if a guy who wore something as garish as a suit for casual wear gave less away than Tobi, the first time the gang met him.

Shikamaru dropped his Kagemane. There wasn't any point in draining his remaining chakra, and, true to his words before, he just didn't care. Not anymore.

There seemed to be a possibility of around 67% that he could change his predicament through this jutsu.

"Then I choose for this dream to be mine." Shikamaru decided. Kagami slowly brought a scroll from his sleeve.

"Excellent! Here, here." The mirrored man passed the scroll to the strategist.

Shikamaru read it through hurriedly, before mumbling, "Baku, Baku, eat my dream."

Kagami smiled and Ino felt him pushing the necessary chakra into the technique, before dropping to the ground like a puppet with strings cut.

In fact, around the Nara began to fold in on itself, until Shikamaru and Ino saw nothing but black.


	2. Wake up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru tries to adjust to home life. Years fly by when you’re used to static.

Shikamaru wasn't sure what he was supposed to do.

The months had come by quickly, and so had his past (future?) memories. They had began appearing since his birth, and now he had regained them all. It was strange, having so much going on in his head, so he spent most of this time sleeping (or just staring blankly at the wall of his room).

Luckily, that kind of behaviour (if interpreted as laziness) was expected of a Nara.

"I hope you aren't forgetting about me," Ino muttered. She had become a presence in his mind again, though Shikamaru wasn't sure exactly when.

Whether or not she had just been silent, he had no idea. He sighed. He had a mental age a decade and a half older than that of his peers now; begrudgingly, he knew it was going to be even harder to socialise than before.

But there was a bigger problem he had to face.

Konoha wasn't just a memory anymore. It was thriving.

Admittedly, it was still undergoing vital repairs due to the Kyuubi, but it was doing quite well in comparison to when the other villages had had one of the tailed ten unleashed upon them.

Shikamaru was glad he was an infant, as no one questioned why he sometimes began to cry after staring at his parents for just a little bit too long.

It was becoming a problem.

* * *

 He was two years old now, and his father was upping his observation of him.

This could be troublesome. Would his father notice anything? He couldn't deny that possibility - his father was incredibly lucid when he wanted to be. So Shikamaru tried to behave as naturally as any young child would.

He definitely failed at that.

"Shika, why are you faking your behaviour? Don't try and act like you don't understand." His father said, rubbing a little at his scarred face. Shikamaru cursed inwardly, before contracting his facial muscles into a smile. His father wasn't amused, frowning and black eyes narrowing.

Shikamaru thought fast. "The other kids, they think that I'm weird when I don’t." This technically wasn't a lie, Chouji and Ino had visited for the first time last month and Shikamaru could firmly say that he freaked them out. 

"Damn right you scared them," Ino growled. "My adorable self was so creeped out!" Shikamaru's lips twitched at that.

For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, he had taken more than a little bit of pride in that fact.

"Sorry," the infantilised Nara subvocalized, before cringing terribly.

He had started talking to Ino by mouthing the words, after her 'death', and no one had really been around to stop him, what with everyone else in Konoha... Gone. But now, he figured he must look a little strange.

Scratch that, he must look very strange, he thought, as his father's frown deepened. He swallowed.

"That's not healthy, Shika." The man coughed awkwardly. "Want to play some shōgi, and talk a little more?" Well, he didn't really have much of a choice; what else was he supposed to do?

(After a few hours, Shikamaru let himself show his true skill, and beat his father at the game.)

* * *

He was almost 4 when his mother had caught him messing around with his chakra. Her voice had been sharp but concerned.

"Shikamaru! Baby, you shouldn't do that without Mother or Father, you could injure yourself." She had scolded.

Shikamaru struggled to keep a straight face. Nara were mostly allowed to do whatever they liked, since most were simply too lazy to get into any trouble.

Hell, they even let him out of the compound by himself now, yet utilising his chakra was where they drew the line?

Then again, it had taken her quite a while to notice his antics— he could make his hands glow now.

He felt a little drained, it seemed like his reserves weren't big enough to continue this for long periods of time quite yet.

Shikamaru was lucky that he was a clan child, his young body was made perfectly to live as a ninja. That was the main difference between civilian and ninja clans: the latter were literally made for the shinobi lifestyle. Because of this, his chakra pathways had already finished developing, just in time with his kneecaps.

Ninja bodies really were killing machines; civilians' pathways weren't complete until they were at least 5.

"Shika, you should quit that," Ino interrupted his train of thought with a huff. "Your father has returned home."

Shikamaru's eyes fell on the door, his back automatically trying to straighten. Smoothing his expression, he quickly relaxed. His mother raised a brow, but said nothing.

Shikamaru felt his father scale the stairs quickly, almost urgently. Had something happened? He’d soon find out.

The Nara clan head, Shikaku himself, strolled into Shikamaru’s room, sent a calculated stare toward his wife and son, then flopped heavily onto Shikamaru's now full-sized bed.

"What have you done now, Shika?" He sounded defeated, but all of them could hear the hidden mirth.

"He's been trying to access his chakra and nearly burning his hands, that’s what," The female Nara sighed, playing along.

He'd nearly gotten burns?

Shikamaru looked down at the soft, small palms that were (but also weren't) his own. They did look a little sore, he thought absently. Shikamaru hadn't even noticed.

"I think they should be bandaged, or something." Yoshino continued. Shikaku nodded his assent.

There was a pregnant pause.

"I suppose I'll get the first aid kit then." The woman muttered, definitely as an afterthought.

Dragging Shikamaru by the back of his collar, mother and son walked down into the kitchen before she heaved him onto the counter. "This might hurt." She said, as she sprayed and wrapped her son's hands in gauze. Shikamaru didn't even flinch, and he only noticed his error when she looked up at him in surprise.

Most Nara would have thought it a necessity to complain, even if warned beforehand. In truth, all Nara didn't like pain as a fact - they couldn't handle it, usually tried to block it out completely, not being able to deal with such intense emotions.

The price they had to pay for their high intelligence.

"'M sorry, mum. I was just curious." Shikamaru looked down, feeling guilty.

"If you want to learn about chakra, your father or I can teach you, Shikamaru, no need to do this in secret. Chakra is a volatile thing, you need to take care, even if Nara are known for their naturally good chakra control." She sighed.

To her, Shikamaru hadn't been a babe for long at all, he’d grown up so quickly it seemed as though he had never been an infant at all.

She traced his face with a thumb and looked hard at the small scars that seemed to litter it. They had slowly started appearing as he aged, and Yoshino quite wasn't sure what to make of them.

They were incredibly faint, she was glad for that. You could only truly see them if you already knew that they were there, silvery as they were, akin to spiderweb.

"I'd like that." Shikamaru replied with a lazy smile.

Yoshino decided she would discuss early enrolment into the academy.

* * *

"Absolutely not." Shikaku retorted, his voice a sudden contrast to his usual tone. He drank the remaining rice wine in his cup before slamming it upside-down onto the table. The left side of his mouth curled slightly at the burn, but he’d been drinking since he hit chūnin and that was as much of a reaction to the drink he’d allow himself.

"Why not? He's bored to death at home, I can see it." Yoshino snapped back, sitting down from polite seiza to mirror Shikaku’s lax crossed legs. She personally didn't want her child to grow up so soon, but it would be better than seeing him so down each day because nothing was stimulating his brain.

"You think I haven't seen what starting at the academy early does to the mind? The Hatake all the Yamanaka are worried about is proof enough that it damages more than it aids. Even the heir to the Uchiha clan is showing signs of poor mental health due to the clan speeding up his learning!" Shikaku was adamant. He knew how damaged shinobi who were thrust into the system too early became, compared to those who started later, and Nara were more susceptible to this than most.

Once again, their high IQ worked against them in this way.

"Oh, come on, Shikaku!" Yoshino wasn't about to give up. "He even beats you at the general's board game when he's willing to play properly! He needs to use that brain he's got for something! At least let him learn the base curriculum from home then." She tried to compromise.

"I won't allow it. All Nara could technically bypass the entire academy if they desired on intelligence alone, their processing level is unmatched, but they have neither the experience nor the emotional capacity for life as ninja." His voice was clipped, not boasting— true fact.

"But surely Shikamaru has that capacity! I've seen it in him, don't you try to deny it!" Yoshino urged.

"Hmmm, you think so? I don't." Shikaku murmured.

"Why's that?" Yoshino bit back, but suddenly felt Shikamaru's chakra flickering for a few seconds, before levelling out. She consequently lowered her voice, settling for a hissing disapproval.

Shikaku has also sensed his son's awakening, and made a mental note to ask the boy how he learnt to control his chakra signature.

The volume of both of their voices (yes, even his own) had been steadily increasing, so it wasn't so surprising that his son had been disturbed.

"Haven't you seen the way he looks at us when he thinks we aren't looking?" He began again, voice soft, almost sorrowful. "It's almost as if he's afraid of losing us, his eyes get so sad.

"He shouldn't have any reason to feel that way, Yoshino. Additionally, his attitude worries me: he's repressing parts of himself in order to appeal to people. Hell, I've seen him subvocalizing of all things, most likely so that he can say what he wants without emotional repercussions.

“What I mean is, the kid's a ticking time bomb. Throwing him into the academy or even teaching him the material is a bad idea right now."

The female Nara harrumphed.

* * *

After a few more useful points and witty counter arguments, one of them had to cave, and it sure as hell wasn't Yoshino.

"I don't know..." Shikaku said, but he knew that he was defeated. Yoshino had a tired but triumphant smile on her face.

Arguing with Shikaku for long periods of time, and _winning_ , was almost impossible.

They both agreed that isolation from his generation was a wrong move, so Shikamaru began 'learning' the academy knowledge from home.

As Yoshino held the larger role in these lessons, she often taught him more about kunoichi arts than shinobi, but Shikamaru didn’t mind.

Ino loved it.

She would pester and pester Shikamaru to ask multiple questions on specific flowers, amongst other things. This meant a great number of trips to the Yamanaka flower shop, and Shikamaru had the joy of ~~hiding~~ standing behind his mother as a tiny Ino glared down at him from her counter-top ‘throne’ beside the till.

His Ino simply found this a pleasant bonus. What a menace, Shikamaru thought again, fond.

In all seriousness, though, it was actually good to go back and recap some of the things he had discarded, simply because he hadn't needed them. He needed to be ready for any ripples, and even if the smallest tidbits of information never came to be used, busying his mind helped him cope. 


	3. Learn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru attends the Academy again. He does both better and worse.

All children were entered into the ninja academy in the year that they turned 6, or, at the latest, 8.

Which is why Shikamaru was up with his alarm, for the first time in both of his lives. It was early morning, the stars already gone from the sky, and the dim light of the sun was just about to peek over the Hokage mountain. It was still spring, but the weather wasn't too bad. The traveler opened the back door quietly--

And hesitated. 

A crisp breeze ran through him, sending a chill down his spine.

He turned on his heel and wrapped a scarf around his neck.  
  
Okay. Now he was ready to hide from his parents. And through them, the Academy. Forcing his breathing to level out, he was out the door.

It wasn't as though he thought himself too incompetent to attend. He was just... Lazy.

"Liar," Ino sang. She was always the first one to cut down his excuses.

"I'm not lying," he mouthed.

Ino scoffed, "Come now, Your parents alive were one thing, the entire Konoha Eleven is something else entirely." 

Shikamaru scowled, but didn't disagree. If he joined the Academy, sooner or later he'd run into all of those he'd fought with, _before._ His breath caught again at the thought. _  
_

He got as far as the maw of Nara Forest before he was spotted.

"Stop right there." A languid voice made him pause. Shikamaru froze, first from surprise and then from the shadow possession jutsu that had successfully ensnared him. 

He clicked his tongue, and tried to keep his voice carefully unaffected. "Am I not allowed to enter my own clan's woods?" Shikamaru was only mildly irritated that he had been stopped. 

It was inevitable with ninja, after all.

Ino could have alerted him to this family member's presence. Shikamaru would question her on this later, and she would be quiet for a while, before explaining that she worked only with his best interests in mind.

"Not right now; Aunt Yoshino's waitin' for you." The older Nara answered, raising a lanky arm to scratch at his ear. 

Shikamaru wasn't impressed, he was still stuck in the bloodline limit.

"Release me." He sighed. The older Nara shook his head (and therefore, Shikamaru's too.) A brisk march back to the main family clan house, and his parents were on him like lions. His escort conveniently disappeared just as Yoshino opened her mouth.

"Why did you run off?" Yoshino scolded. Both Shikamaru and Shikaku winced at her sharp tone.

"It's April. I don't want to go to the Academy." It was 7:45, and Shikamaru would have to start the walk to that poorly disguised hell in a quarter of an hour if he didn't find a way to escape.

"So you decided to run away?" Shikaku wasn't that impressed either, though he didn't show it as much as his wife. His tired eyes rove over Shikamaru, looking for something with uncharacteristic intensity, before seemingly finding what he wanted.

Shikamaru averted his eyes.

Admittedly, there could have been different ways to go about this. Fourteen different ways, to be exact.

"You should look at your expression right now," Ino laughed. 

"I'll set off now." He sighed, voice flat. With a rub at the sore flesh of his cheek and another laugh from Ino at his expense, he dragged his feet out the door.

—Which is how he arrived here. Sulking at the back of the classroom, to all who viewed him, alone and silent.

Shikamaru was eternally grateful that the entirety of Konoha knew of the Nara clan's lethargy. No-one questioned him when he fell asleep at his desk (and then, at break time, a tree) for the majority of the day.

Until...

"Shikamaru, are you awake? Can you answer the question on the board?" The teacher (a nameless face) asked, raising her voice to draw his attention. 

That honestly hasn't been necessary, he had snapped out of his mild unconsciousness the moment her eyes fell upon his person. She kept her face blank, but he could see something dancing in her eyes. 

Was it...?

"She's messed with the question," Ino sounded like a cat who'd caught the canary.

But Shikamaru was a genius, and that held weight when you belonged to a clan known for producing just that.  
  
He yawned, showing his small but sharp white teeth. "Can I write my working on there?" Something told him that she wouldn't be satisfied with just the final answer.

* * *

 After the first year came the two year course, this meant shinobi orientated classes. Mathematics became rationing and trajectory; history, political tactics and past Konohan agreements; Literature, new kanji and coding. Children from the classes were sorted into more diverse, less skill-sorted groups, and thus, the council needed to debate on a certain Uzumaki Naruto.

"Hold him in the genin corps!" One cried.

"No, refuse him education in any form!" Another interrupted. A good number of seats held favour to Shimura Danzo's desire to keep the jinchuuriki away from society, so shot down any chance the boy would learn and hold the capacity to serve.

"Place him in the new teacher's class." A calm voice cut across the chaos. "Umino is young, not so set in his ways, he'll have no bias." Shikaku was at it again.

Sandaime smiled. Since the man had started to worry about his own son's development, the clan head had gotten increasingly involved with the education system. He hadn't been happy with past Acts and altered them accordingly, entirely for the better, in his humble opinion.

 _Shikamaru often came home late after school (-because of detentions for not doing the work and then being a smartass-) because of his training._ _  
_

_So to find him meditating in his room afterwards, recovering, was expected.  
_

_That night however, he was also expecting a shout for his parents, announcing his teacher.  
_

_Channeling chakra to his ears, he listened in on the downstairs conversation.  
_

_"I firmly believe that your son should be moved into the advanced class, he's not being challenged enough to stay in the one he's in now." His sensei paused, and he knew it was to adjust her glasses,_ _  
_

_"But either way, to achieve the proper grades, he should be in the higher bound."  
_

_Now it was Yoshino's turn to speak. "Wait, what's wrong with his grades?" She sounded stern, if a little confused. His sensei (he should really learn her name) shuffled a little.  
_

_"The Academy has a new policy. To make grading more personalised, instead of marking pupils of where they rank in the class, we rank them against themselves - of course, the rankings in class still hold weight: we aren't scrapping titles like rookie or kunoichi of the year.  
_

_"Through the year students are expected to make a certain amount of progress to keep their grade, but your son hasn't moved at all in these past terms. He needs harder material, something to change the form of his marks or he won't achieve a suitable pass."  
_

_His mother's chakra twitched. "That wasn't the case when Shikaku and myself attended the academy, why and when did it change?" His father's chakra did something so quickly that Shikamaru almost thought he'd imagined it.  
_

_Shikamaru could tell his sensei had put on a sympathetic smile. "Hokage's orders. Many think that he decided on this method in order to slow students' advancing too fast through the system, to allow them to enjoy being children in these peace times." The slight rustling of hair and fabric gave away a head nod.  
_

_"It was partially me." Shikaku said easily. "I noticed how the screens of those advancing quickly didn't look as hot as those taking their time through their education, and put my word in with Sandaime."_ _  
_

_Shikamaru furrowed his brow, a hand coming up to his mouth to bite at his nails. His father did this? But more importantly...  
_

_Was this his own fault? Was it because he hadn't acted the same way he once did that Shikaku felt he had to do something as drastic as this? Changing the Academy system entirely?  
He pushed his attention back to the conversation downstairs. _

_"-azing that you did that, Nara-sama! I too feel that it is the best course of action for children, especially those like your son." He could tell his Sensei had pushed her glasses up again, chakra jumping like a dog trying too hard to please. "But that begs the question, will you push him up to the next bound?" Shikamaru held his breath.  
_

_"We might need time to think on it." Was Shikaku's steady response._ _  
_

_Shikamaru tried very, very hard not to dig his nails into his palms._

  
"And whom do you propose we place alongside Uzumaki?" Hiruzen questioned softly, quieter than all, yet heard better than anyone else that day. 

Shikaku's blink pattern lagged for a moment, before he opened his mouth again to speak.

"The main clan heirs, for starters. The boy needs the bonds." He ignored the quiet scoffs that ran around the room, adding, "Additionally, some civilian children for balance and equality. The girl with the high exam rankings should be looked into." Shikaku shut his files. "That is all."

Hiruzen inclined his head. "Thank you for your input, Jounin commander." They exchanged a look, before the Hokage steered the debate to a different concern.

Shikaku closed his eyes. Talking for so long about a heated topic had really taken a lot out of him.  
He pointedly ignored the chill of Danzou's stare from beside Sandaime. 

* * *

At last, Shikamaru was back in Iruka's class. He had been in the past for one decade now, and had settled in. But seeing the teacher again was truly nostalgic, he remembered all too well how important this chuunin had been to Naruto. His Hokage had been inconsolable for the longest time after his unofficial father's death.

With this in mind, he made sure that he continued to sleep through all of his classes and never do any work. It was rather fun to see Umino's exasperated look every time his eyes fell upon him, and though it was petty, it was the highlight of his day. The chuunin couldn't fight him on it unless his test scores fell, and said numbers never did.

Ino always giggled whenever the scarred sensei glared in his direction.

That was how it was. Until...

The entire class had been brought outside for a crash course in taijustu. He'd been put up for a spar.

Against Naruto.

Shikamaru had held a hidden strange feeling about this, but had pushed it aside in favour of looking mildly inconvenienced. He wished he'd argued more.

"Begin!" Iruka had yelled, and Naruto had come barrelling at him. But in that moment, the screen overlapped. Visions of the past took hold, and Shikamaru froze.

His mind could no longer see the lush green of the village, hear the jeering of his peers as they watched on. He could see only fire and destruction, could hear only the screams and feel the crumbling cry of the landscape through him. 

He panicked.

So he ran.  
He didn't get far.

* * *

It wasn't a difficult task to find the Nara heir with Iruka's natural skill as a sensor. 

The boy was easily comparable to well-worn leather, easily distinguishable from the other children's shiny and bright signatures.

Iruka rounded another corner when he peered over to one of the tallest tree in the academy. "Shikamaru?" 

How had he gotten up there? The lowest branches began at least three meters up.

Ah. 

There were deep gashes in the wood that looked suspiciously like footprints, an identifier of someone trying to distractedly use chakra. He must be upset, then. 

Shikamaru had perfect control, surpassing even Sakura in that area. 

"Shikamaru." Iruka repeated as he grew closer, effortlessly channeling chakra to his feet to walk up the bark, further noting the boy's less that optimal state.

Head in his hands, the Nara was shaking harshly as heavy tears dropped onto the wood beneath his feet. The sun through the leaves lit up his skin as a lush, bright green, and Iruka couldn’t help but notice how the shadows seemed to churn at the corners of his vision. Shikamaru’s chest was convulsing, and all that could be heard from the boy was his harsh breathing and occasional whimper that somehow managed to escape from his mouth.

He'd been warned when he'd been assigned this class, of Shikamaru's... Problems.

The boy had reportedly suffered from a questionable mental state from a young age, but had apparently been able to manage his issues. 

Well, Iruka could see quite evidently how that wasn't going as well as many liked to think.

The boy had been reluctant to spar with Uzumaki all term long, but Iruka had merely put it down to laziness in the face of the other boy's energetic nature. Apparently, he had been wrong. As soon as Shikamaru had seen Uzumaki move with violent intentions (or as violent as a 10 year old could manage), his calculating eyes had changed, had become glassy.

It had looked like he was viewing something else entire until Naruto collided with him, Shikamaru's arms had twitched with a strong intention momentarily before the Nara heir had frozen in his tracks.

They had moved so minutely it could have been mistaken for a spasm, but the boy's chakra had sharpened a little too much like Sasuke's signature for Iruka's liking. For a moment, it had become as deep and empty as a void, as dangerous as a seasoned shinobi.

There had been a pinprick of strong killing intent in the air, before Shikamaru had hurriedly crashed a lid over his chakra core, speeding off towards this old and reaching tree. Iruka suspected that that stomach-churning sensation of KI had made a u-turn, directed fully at Shikamaru himself, sending the boy into a full-blown panic attack.

The slight breeze blew its fingers through both of their ponytails, and Iruka sighed.

The leaves had cast both of their skin in green tones, thanks to the glowing midday sunlight, and Iruka took a deep breath before reaching out a hand to the young heir's shoulder.

The boy flinched like he had been struck.

* * *

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't move.

He couldn't speak.

  
Shikamaru's frame was wracked with shudders and gasping breaths as he scrambled high into an old Hashirama tree. 

The Nara, in his distress, pressed far too much chakra to his feet than necessary, yet the deep sandal marks he left behind in the bark were not given a second thought.

His trembling palms found their way to his head and pressed at his temples. When this did nothing to calm him, he found himself digging his blunt nails into his scalp, pulling at his dark brown hair in a desperate attempt to ground himself.

His ears were echoing the blood pumping hard in his head, and he could vaguely hear himself whimpering before it was stolen away by the wind and the rustling of leaves. He bit at his lip regardless, determined to say as quiet as possible. 

Distantly, he felt someone approaching. After years of fighting in the war, Shikamaru had taken it upon himself to memorise every chakra signature he had ever came across, in the hope that it would keep them alive, even if just within his mind.

This person was soft yet inexplicably firm, pliant yet still somehow strong.

"Shikamaru?" It was Iruka - of course it was, Shikamaru had bolted in the middle of his lesson with no explanation whatsoever.

If he wasn't so gone, he'd scold himself. But that would come later.

Iruka repeated his name, but Shikamaru didn't answer. His mind was whirring: how was he supposed to explain his reaction? He tried to count to ten, bringing his hands down, dropping clammy palms to the bark he was huddled on.  
  
He was fine; he'd be fine; what was he panicking for? It was silly, he was fine. 

This mantra was helping a little, and in the back of his mind he could hear Ino's presence slowly returning, moving away from the corner he'd squashed her into in his panic.

But then a hand was on his shoulder, and shattered the faux calm he had been cultivating. 

His eyes glassed over again as he flinched.

* * *

Iruka couldn't take this any longer. He flared his chakra, tried not to notice how the boy's own became distressed at the action, and faced the ANBU that appeared immediately.

"Please notify the Jounin Commander, Bird-san. His heir needs him."

There was the familiar swish of misplaced air, and the bone-mask was gone. 

* * *

Shikamaru came to in his room, the moon and stars glimmering in the pitch sky. He groaned, exhausted.


	4. Kin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Sasuke
> 
> //he says in parenthesis//
> 
> but yeah uh Shikamaru comes up with an explanation that will work for the time being and also explores his relationship with Sasuke, which differs a little from canon. 
> 
> (clue: this really smart character is playing a dumber character so that i can actually attempt to write in character. why am i getting kiba vibes (no offense kiba))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it’s exam season for me so that’s why this is so late? sorry guys, i have two weeks more of exams before im free forever from school lol
> 
> i have a basic outline but i need to actually write it, ugh
> 
> also my current obsession is hamilton goddamnit i love that musical

Days passed, and the house remained abuzz with tension. At each meal no one spoke of that day, but Shikamaru knew his parents wanted answers.

Not that they said so, the only evidence of their desires was the looks the two parents shared, and the unfortunate volume of his mother’s voice. Whenever she saw Shikaku and Shikamaru together, it would become five times louder to perhaps attempt to ameliorate the awkwardness of the situation.

He experienced another isolation, Shikamaru staying mostly in his room. He hadn’t played shōji in a long time, but before this, during the end of the war, he hadn’t really talked to anyone at all, so it wasn’t such a problem for him.

Ino, on the other hand, hated it. Even though, as Shikamaru constantly reminded her, she had endured it before. Despite this, everyday she let her frustration be known. Shikamaru was tired of it.

But how to explain? It wasn’t like he could easily. Unless…

The useful thing about Uchiha Sasuke was that he commonly practiced alone, in the training fields a ways from his clan compound.

It was time to visit him.

Believe it or not, in this life, he and Shikamaru had at one point been close. Not like Naruto, never like Naruto, but they’d had a simple arrangement.

* * *

_"Wait wait wait wait. You want me, me, known for never doing work at school or at home... To tutor Uchiha?" Shikamaru was 8 years old and trying not to think about the inevitable coup of said clan while being told to get closer to said heir._

_He'd left Sasuke behind in the average-but-not-called-average-to-save-people's-feelings class (he ignored Ino's chiding voice, telling him it was **intermediate** and that he was lucky to have gotten into that bound **at all** with such an attitude), and thought that would've been the last of him—until Iruka's, that is—but apparently, the universe had other plans. _

_"Come now, it's part of the Hokage's changes, the ones he put into place with the latest education Act. Students in higher sets can volunteer to assist others in lower, and your father was adamant you take part in the project if you were to stay in this class." His sensei pleaded. This one was better than the last, he at least didn't try and embarrass himself in front of the entire class._

_Shikamaru sighed. "But why me?"_

_"You're at the top of this set, Shikamaru-kun— yes, your coursework is terrible, but your test scores are off the charts, and to be frank, those are the ones that really count. Fugaku-sama has demanded that it be you who tutors his son." And there it was._

_Shikamaru glowered. "I don't have much choice, do I." A hand fell atop his hair._  
_  
__"Oh, Shikamaru-kun. This wasn't a debate; this was a heads-up." His sensei looked at him sympathetically. "You meet with him this afternoon."_

* * *

  _Without his brother emotionally scarring him for life just yet, Uchiha Sasuke was simply a loud, chatty, and only slightly annoying 7 year old._

_Shikamaru massaged the bridge of his nose, sighing, as the young raven opened his mouth to speak yet again._

_"Uchiha, please. Just answer question four." He tried not to sound as harsh as he could have been._

_Big black eyes merely turned to him, innocent._

_"But I haven't even gotten to the best part of the story yet! Big brother was surrounded on all sides with only cousin Shisui as backup, and, and-"_

_Shikamaru repeated himself again, cutting the boy (-because that was what he was now; not the last uchiha, not stone cold bastard uchiha, not S-class missing nin-) off._

_"Question four, Uchiha. Question four." Sasuke pouted. Pouted!_

_"Don't be so hard on him, he hasn't been broken yet. He's basically Naruto with a borderline decent upbringing." Ino chided, and she was right, really, but Shikamaru didn't care— he'd had to sit through at least an hour of this, already, and he was. So. Done._

_Then Uchiha was talking again, "The answer is c. Happy?" Sasuke was looking at him with an intense expression, searching for something. Well, he was not going to like this Nara's response._

_"No, actually." Shikamaru sighed again. Sasuke looked alarmed._

_"Why not?!" His brows pulled together. Sage, was the boy sulking?_

_"Because the answer is not c. It’s a._ _How did you even get c as your answer?"_

* * *

  _After a while, it was finally time for the tutoring to end for the day. Sasuke finished putting his books and scrolls into his backpack before turning to his tutoring partner. He hadn't even started putting his stuff away._

_"Aren't you going to pack up?" Shikamaru shook his head. "Why? Are you going to study by yourself now? What do you even learn about if you're so good at school?" Shikamaru shook his head again and Sasuke was beginning to think he wasn't listening at all. He puffed up his cheeks and was about to scold him when the other boy opened his mouth to speak._

_"I have... my own kind of tutoring now." The Nara seemed reluctant to say more, but he'd told Sasuke now, he had to know more._

_"Really? Who with? What for? For how long?"_

_Sasuke was so curious, Shikamaru seemed to have taken a spot in his life a little bit like his brother— except, of course, for the fact that his big brother was a lot cooler than Shikamaru could ever be._

_Shikamaru knew how to deal with prying children. He’d been on a team with Ino for all these years, and that hadn’t yielded nothing. Ino mentally swatted him but he didn’t react._

_"It's really none of your business." With that, the brunette sent him home. Sasuke puffed out his cheeks again and went home with a blush._

* * *

_Shikamaru hated visiting Yamanaka._

_"Hey!" Ino protested, “Just go to your session, Nara.”_

_He smiled._ _  
_

* * *

  _It was during one of Sasuke's tutoring sessions with himself that he sensed it._

_It had truly begun. Shisui had died some time before, Shikamaru had known by the way Sasuke had been a little less talkative, skirting around mission stories involving said family member._

_But now, by the way that killing intent was cloaking the Uchiha compound, Shikamaru knew that Itachi had been given his orders._

_He straightened his back, before trying to get Sasuke to complete question seven._

* * *

_After the lesson he began to pack away his things._

_"I thought you had your different tutoring now." Sasuke was confused, but fighting very hard not to show it. It didn't work, of course, but Shikamaru knew the boy was trying, and humoured him._  
_  
__"Not today." That was a lie, but this was more important than therapy. Ino only sighed at his decisions. This was just as important to her as to him, so she let it slide. "How about we walk home together? It's gotten kinda dark."_

_Sasuke screwed up his face, but looked behind him to a window, gasping as he saw how it really had gotten late. Shikamaru hadn't even been able to get him to complete question seven because he'd started taking about how great his big brother was, yet again. He really should've planned the boy's dramatic odes and general monologues about Itachi into his schedule._

_"Oh no! Mother told me I had to be back before it got this late!" Sasuke was throwing things in his satchel as quickly as he could. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but helped him pack the last of his scrolls._

* * *

_As they ran together through Konoha's dimly lit streets, Sasuke suddenly skidded to a stop. They weren't at the compound yet, so Shikamaru circled around, pushing chakra to his chest to ease his breathing._ _  
_

_Sasuke sure didn't skimp out on his physical training, the raven was only breathing a little harsher than when he was at rest, whereas Shikamaru would be needing an inhaler or something at this point if not for the application of chakra, cancelling out his wheezing. Ignoring Ino’s disappointed comment, he made a mental note to increase his stamina training._

_"What's wrong?" The Nara questioned, following the other boy's line of sight to a flagpole._

_"I thought I saw... It was probably nothing."_ _Sasuke shook his head, before beginning to jog on the spot. "Ready?"_

_Shikamaru gave him a flat stare._

_They both smiled a little, and then, grinding the stones under their feet, they were off again._

* * *

_Arriving at the Uchiha clan gates, both boys knew now that something was wrong. No guards stood in front of the black metal bars, and it was eerily quiet._

_At this time, there should have been the warm, inviting glow of the Uchiha district, casting out the dark and heating every area._

_No such thing. Shikamaru could hear his heartbeat and the swishing of Sasuke’s hair as he looked around frantically. His breath appeared like a ghost in front of him._

_"Shikamaru, this doesn't feel right." Sasuke's voice was wobbling._

_"I feel you, Uchiha." He swallowed, and tried to ignore the pulse in his ears._

_They began inside, Sasuke tugging him along with some kind of newfound instinct. Quickly finding the fastest road to his house, Sasuke powered on, bent double, Shikamaru fast behind._

_His hands were shaking, Shikamaru noted belatedly. Sasuke's were too, his entire frame vibrating as they drew nearer to the main house._

_Something was laid down in the middle of the road._

_Shikamaru realised first with dimly lit horror that the something was, in fact, a corpse._

_It was pale enough to signify a great lack of blood in the veins, but still bleeding, only recently killed, fresh._

_"That's the uncle who gives us tomatoes." Sasuke stuttered, growing more distressed by the second. His free hand was pressed into an accusing finger, face contorted, disturbed._

_Well._

_Seeing the majority of your family dead around you tended to have that effect, Shikamaru thought darkly._

_Sasuke had decided to continue, looking around and seeing the same vacant state of bodies mirrored in those the two hadn’t noticed until now, "That's the lady who smiled at me this morning; that's-" Sasuke cut himself off, eyes widening with sudden realisation, terrified. "Mother and Father! Quick, Shikamaru, quick!" And he was off again._  
_  
__Shikamaru sighed and allowed himself to be dragged further into this mess._

* * *

_Uchiha Itachi wiped his eyes before turning to the door. Tilting his head, there was the faint patter of feet heading towards him, demanding he continue what was expected of him. He sighed._

_Only to furrow his brow. That wasn't just Sasuke's footfalls, there was someone else too? But who? Sasuke didn’t have any friends._

_"C'mon, Shikamaru, my parents should be over here; I hope they're alright." That was his brother, without a doubt._

_But 'Shika-' meant Nara, and '-maru' implied it was the heir, if he was correct. He faintly recalled his father boasting about Sasuke being tutored by said child. But why would he be here?_

_Itachi's eyes widened._

_Could it be that Sasuke... had made a friend?_

_Itachi forced himself to keep a flat expression. The two would burst in any second now, and just because his brother had finally bonded with someone who wasn't himself didn't mean he could deviate from the plan._

* * *

_If Shikamaru was frightened, that would be an understatement. He'd forgotten how small he was at this age—Itachi couldn't have been older than 13—and the heir to the Uchiha towered over Sasuke and himself so very easily._

_Or maybe it was the genjutsu. He couldn't tell._  
_  
__His breathing was ragged, and he could tell that Sasuke wasn't much better. The boy's shaking had upgraded to full on spasms that wracked his body._

* * *

_Itachi's eyes were ablaze, lit up with the sharingan, yet Sasuke could still sense something else in them, something sad._

_But the powerful genjutsu his big brother then exposed him to blinded him of his previous thoughts._

* * *

_The steady sound of the machine to his left brought his mind back to consciousness. Having memories of the war cemented so harshly into his mind, Shikamaru no longer had the luxury of a slow awakening, so his eyes quickly snapped open like he had been struck— only for him to shield them quickly from the harsh sunlight that had invited itself into his room through a crack in the blinds._

_He winced, bit his tongue._ _  
_

_Waiting patiently for a nurse to appear, recalling all too well Sakura's deadly fury when others had been foolish enough to try and escape, Shikamaru tapped his nails on the bedside table. He'd be good for now._

* * *

_With his brother now having emotionally scarred him for life, Uchiha Sasuke was a quiet, haunted, and incredibly annoying 7 year old._

_For the first few months, Sasuke continued staying behind after school to have Shikamaru teach him, but the shine had left his eyes, and the Nara no longer had to listen to his great, time-sapping soliloquies. Shikamaru also didn't have to force him to complete questions anymore. Somehow, he found himself missing that._

_The questions he completed were almost always correct._

_After a term, the last Uchiha was pushed up into Shikamaru's set, and Shikamaru was promptly told to tutor someone else._   

_They caught each other's eyes occasionally, both at the academy and the Yamanaka specialist section of the hospital._

* * *

And Sasuke was indeed at the training ground, though he must have heard Shikamaru coming, as he dropped to the floor before the Nara could open his mouth.

“What do you want, Shikamaru.” The last Uchiha demanded, eyeing him with a frown.

They hadn’t had much time to talk at all, since **that** **night** had happened, and Shikamaru had a feeling that all his presence did was bring up unpleasant memories.

Perfect.

“I was wondering if you saw a similar thing I did, around three years ago.” Purposefully remaining vague, Shikamaru noted the narrowing of Uchiha’s eyes, pleased when felt the shaded and rustling purple of his chakra kick abrasively against his own. Two heirs, alike in chakra nature, but Shikamaru liked to think that that was where the similarities ended.

“What did you just say?” The words held a warning bite.

Looking to the side, dimming the tactical light in his eyes, Shikamaru cleared his throat. 

“The genjutsu.” He made his voice quieter, conspiratory. The birds had fallen silent.

Ino whispered, low, “They’re listening.”

Good, Shikamaru thought back. ANBU had never been more helpful.

Shikamaru continued. “The one that your brother-“

At that mention, Sasuke was at his throat, an unstable quality to his eyes, all dark and dangerous.

“Don’t you **dare** mention him.” He threatened, sharp as the blade in his hand. Shikamaru looked down at the flashing metal of Uchiha’s kunai. Keeping his pulse steady, he looked back across into pitch and threw a sceptical gaze at him, unimpressed.

“So you do know what I’m talking about.” He raised a brow at Sasuke, keeping his mouth a firm line. Shoving him off took a little more, but he managed it, taking a moment to tighten his ponytail before speaking again. “What he did, it wasn’t right,” He paid no attention to Ino’s and Uchiha’s collective scoff, “But what he did to me, that was unnecessary. Personal. You want to get back at him, right?” Shikamaru pressed his chakra into a mould, as simple and as one-dimensional as possible. “I want in.”

Coughing into his shirt sleeve, Shikamaru leered over at him, analysing.

Their relationship had changed over the years, and because Sasuke was so eager to advance and avenge now, he could talk to him on a closer level. There wasn’t as large a disconnect in thinking, not as there was before.

The traumatised inherit a relatability to each other, one such that is able transcend universes, apparently.

As Shikamaru and Ino agreed, dry, Sasuke was studying him. Obviously, Uchiha was caught on how to reply.

“What do you know... of struggle?” Sasuke’s tone began soft but quickly morphed into a growl.

“I know enough.”

* * *

So, sat in his weekly therapy session, it came as no surprise when the Yamanaka attempted to broach the topic.

They’d only spoken about organisation and other generic planning techniques for around… Five years or so, and so the jump to talking about **that night** was rather noticeable, even when done by a psychologist.

Planting the conception that his outburst that day at the academy was simply due to the parallels in Itachi’s genjutsu was too easy.

And slowly, the tensions in the household melted away.

Of course, there were questions, but Shikamaru wasn’t stupid.

(“You sure?”

“Yes.”)

People don’t tend to pry when you tell them it’s too difficult to talk about.

Shinobi try not to, but in truth they can be tactless, so it did crop up now and again, shy pokes to check that he wasn’t losing it.

Shikamaru was willing to humour them.

Besides, it gave him a pretty good excuse for his all round unusual behaviour. Night terrors that persisted, for one.

It didn’t really cover his unusual eating habits, though. He wasn’t quite sure how to manage that.

Perhaps the excuse that his heart just wasn’t in it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should really stop using repetition to imply things it’s becoming too obvious
> 
> also itachi that was a sick burn on sasuke you did there  
> amazing


End file.
